Once again we have completed the difficult but necessary task of trimming our journal subscriptions in anticipation of a steep increase in costs. The task grows more difficult each year since we are now losing access to core periodicals in some disciplines. Making the job even more difficult is the number of licenses we have that are part of multi-library contracts. In the near future, many of these deals, which have preserved our access to materials that we could not afford on our own, will be on the table for cuts. If we have to step back from these deals, there will be a dramatic decrease in our access to primary journals.

Given these difficult trends, The Libraries will approach next year’s decisions with some new points of view. We will be examining methods of providing access other than ownership. We will explore pay-per-view arrangements, enhanced and subsidized interlibrary loan, and other avenues to provide content.

Also, one thing is made clear by these continuing difficulties -- it is time for scholars, libraries and publishers to establish new models for scholarly communication, models that provide more affordable and richer content. It is our hope that The Libraries can invigorate a dialogue about these issues and that WSU can be a leader in open access scholarship, as championed by SPARC and other groups.

Jay Starratt
Dean of Libraries
Washington State University
Pullman WA 99164-5610
509-335-4558
jstarratt@wsu.edu

Please contact your department liaison librarian or Diane Carroll (carroldi@wsu.edu), Head of Collections and Acquisitions with your comments on specific titles.

To view the list of 2009 WSU Libraries journal cancellations (red and blue worksheets) and additions (green worksheet) download this Excel spreadsheet. A yellow tab has been added for titles that were removed from the cancellation list.

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The WSU Libraries have had to cancel a substantial number of journal titles in recent years. Some titles were cancelled outright. Others are now only available electronically. During this time, the library materials budget has been flat; we have not received increases to cover inflation in books or journals. Journal inflation, including access to abstracting and indexing services, is running between 5% and 10% annually. We now have this year’s budget figures, and again there is no money to keep offering the access we currently have. We are going to have to cancel somewhere around $600,000 of journals, approximately 15% of our remaining subscriptions.

Each year the cancellation task becomes more difficult as we have to eliminate truly important journals from the WSU research collections. We have realized what savings we can from switching to electronic format, consortial deals, past one-time funding, and carryforward from previous cancellations. We have of course made the case to the Administration that for WSU to be a world-class institution we need to offer world-class access to information, but as you know all too well the money isn’t there.

Since the journal renewals for 2008 must be decided by September 1, we have a very short time to make the hard decisions about which titles to do without. We have been working hard to incorporate information about cost, value, and use patterns into our analysis tools, and welcome your input. Please contact your department liaison librarian, Head of Collections and Acquisitions Diane Carroll (carroldi@wsu.edu) or me with your comments on specific titles, and your chairs and deans if you wish to express support for increasing University support for journal and book collections.

Cindy Stewart Kaag
Interim Dean of Libraries
Washington State University
Pullman WA 99164-5610
509.335.4558; fax 509.335.6721
kaag@wsu.edu

2008 WSU Libraries Additions and Cancellation - Excel spreadsheet

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Due to inflation in serials prices, it again was necessary to make cancellations for 2006. You will find a title list of cancelled titles in the link to the Excel spreadsheet below. Whether paper, online, or both were cancelled is indicated as well as if access is still available another way.

2006 Cancellation list - Excel spreadsheet

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In order to live within the Libraries' collections budget, it has been necessary to cancel journals in each of the last two years. In 03/04 the Libraries collections budget sustained a 3% reduction in state funds. Every year subscription prices rise with inflation; cuts are necessary since the budget has not increased accordingly.

Below you will find four lists that summarize which titles were eliminated, which were switched to electronic-only access, and what savings accrued. FY 2003/04 funds paid for current subscriptions to 2004 titles. FY 2004/05 funds will pay for next year's subscriptions to 2005 titles.

• Cancelled: A list of 910 titles cancelled outright. WSU no longer has access to those titles cancelled for 2004 and will lose access to those cancelled for 2005.

• Changed To Electronic Access Only: A list of savings accrued by canceling 417 paper titles while retaining electronic access to the titles.

• Cancelled Alternate Formats: A list of savings accrued by canceling 167 alternative formats, mostly microfilm, while retaining paper access to the titles.

• Summary: A summary of the total savings accrued.